David Beckham’s esports team makes £50m play for London stock market
AN ESPORTS team backed by David Beckham is planning to join the stock market – but looks set to be valued at far less than initially hoped.
Guild Esports, which is assembling teams of players to compete in computer game tournaments, intends to float on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) early next month.
It would be the first esports company to join the LSE, but it is now seeking a valuation of £50m – half of what was suggested over the summer.
Beckham, the former England football captain, is a founding shareholder of Guild with a ‘significant minority stake’ held through his company DB Ventures.
He is also represented on the board. Guild wants to raise £20m by selling shares to new investors in a deal that would value it at £50m. It will use the money to recruit a team of professional gamers.
The reduction in the proposed valuation of Guild – from £100m to £50m – suggests Beckham’s stake is not worth as much as once thought.
Once the pastime of teenagers in their bedrooms, esports has made video gaming competitive and turned it into a career for some. Last year 443m viewers tuned into esports games, and some tournaments attract more viewers than the Wimbledon tennis championships and the Tour de France, while top prizes can be in the region of £2.5m.
Guild wants to develop its own teams as well as an academy. For Beckham, this business will sit in a stable of firms and brands which he co-owns, including US soccer club Inter Miami and the Haig Club whisky brand he launched with drinks firm Diageo.